Some Books I read

I recently read “A Prisoner of Birth” by Jeffrey Archer. One would think that a long book about a simple man wronged and his story of revenge against powerful adversaries would be a common story. But the way Archer writes and tells the story makes this an extremely gripping, interesting, tense one that I could … Read more

Tribal Dancer: Short Story

The jeep passed his hutment. Malik and his wife were standing in front of it chatting with a couple of friends. Even from a distance, he could sense that the tourists sitting inside the jeep turned their necks. Some of them were discreet. But everyone wanted to catch a glance of the oddity in front … Read more

The Guide: Short Story

“Liberation is what we call it, Sir. They had the cheek to called it invasion!” Manoj Kumar, the guide said. He broke into his characteristic loud guffaw that reverberated in the empty surroundings. I watched him shake his head in disbelief as if he had lived the history. “A small request for help turned out … Read more

The Begging Girl: Short Story

At the red signal, with 76 seconds left for green, he felt someone touch his feet inside the autorickshaw. He turned to look at his left. A girl in tattered rags, an overflowing nose and dishevelled hair stood there with a small board in her hand. It surprised him that she spoke in English. He … Read more

Open Mouths, Closed Minds

“These monthly review meetings are such a waste of time,” Swami complained while having his coffee the other day. Even the muffin didn’t seem to enliven his mood. Jigneshbhai and I realised that he must have had a meeting with Raichand, of late. “A group of people get into a room and get slammed by … Read more

The Search for Validation

The world is full of reasons to spur us into seeking validation. The online world even more so with its plethora of likes, comments, traffic, add to carts, views, etc. It is an unending search, an unquenchable well of thirst. The key question is not in the externals but what is it internally that spurs … Read more

New Book: Melange: A Medley of Short Stories

Just a note to let you know that my latest book “Melange: A Medley of Short Stories” is now available. It is an Omnibus of Forty Seven Stories across the four collections that I have written in 2021 and contains a wide variety of tales. It is available on Amazon in Kindle format and on … Read more

Just One Minute, Sir: Short Story

“The next ninety seconds are very critical,” Santosh Kumar told his friend as he waited for the green to turn amber and then red at Ejipura signal in Bangalore. As soon as the green turned to amber, he stood up with his wares and had a quick look at the three bikers who were nearing … Read more

Inner Peace

A friend of mine who was a CEO of a big company told me the other day that he was leaving his job. I thought he must be becoming the CEO of another, bigger company, but he told me that was not why he was leaving it. I asked him why, and he told me … Read more

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